


Bring Back The Sun

by TonySnark (Sherlocked729)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky needs a hug, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Deaf Clint Barton, Don't Worry Steve Isn't A Dick During All Of This, Gen, Possible Tony and Nat Relationship At Some Point, Protective Natasha Romanov, Tony Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor, Writing This By Ear, steve is a dick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 08:17:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7259632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherlocked729/pseuds/TonySnark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony's still reeling after the war between him and Steve. They're all back living in Avengers Tower together and just trying to get along, but Tony can't hide his demons from everyone. He finds a friend in Natasha who wants to help him get strong again, both mentally and physically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not Good As New

**Author's Note:**

> Just a few things before you go into reading this: Clint doesn’t have a family. J.A.R.V.I.S. is still an AI. Clint (if you know anything about my other fanfics) is deaf and wears hearing aids. Tony still has his arc reactor. Bucky wasn’t [SPOILER ALERT TURN BACK NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE REST I MEAN IT] frozen again, and he’s with the rest of the Avengers in this story.
> 
> This story (obviously) contains spoilers for Captain America: Civil War (like there is anyone actually out there that hasn’t yet seen the movie). However, if you do happen to be one of these rare people, then please be advised. You might get spoiled rotten if you read this story. 
> 
> That’s all for now. If I haven’t lost you yet, then please do read on, and review or leave me kudos or both! Reviews are amazing and make me happy, though…

Chapter One: Not Good As New 

.   .   .

  


Tony gritted his teeth as he attempted to tighten a stubborn bolt that refused to tighten. He turned his arm and swore aloud when his shaking hand caused his skin to pinch between the wrench and then table where he was working.

He sighed and blinked several times as the room appeared to blur before his eyes. He rubbed them roughly with his palms as a familiar voice was heard in the room now.

_“You have been awake for nearly 72 hours. Might I suggest you take a short nap, sir?”_

Tony cleared his throat and then relaxed when his vision cleared up again. “I believe you just suggested it anyway. I don’t need… a nap. I need to finish this up.”

He moved the wrench around the bolt and watched as it entered the hole a bit more, but not as much as he wanted. He felt frustrated; it wasn’t as if he was not strong. He had a good bit of muscle, but it was simply because his hands were trembling, the result of a mixture of his insomnia and too much coffee.

_“In that case, would you like me to alert Captain Rogers that you require his assistance?”_

At the sound of Steve’s surname, the genius’s hand pinched again, but this time he was bleeding a small amount. He cursed again and then threw the wrench across the room before he stood up and suddenly yelled, “Shut up!! I don’t need anyone’s help! Don’t you dare tell him to come here or else so help me, I will terminate you, J!”

There was a slight pause before the AI’s voice came over the system again. _“My voice sensors tell me otherwise. Captain Rogers is on his way to you as we speak…”_

Tony let out an anguished yell but he knew it wasn’t the AI’s fault. He was just doing what he was built for; to help Tony Stark. He took a deep breath and tried to pull himself together before he walked over to the other side of the room and grabbed a rag before he held it to his bleeding hand.

It wasn’t long before he saw Steve at the transparent glass door and punch in the code before entering the lab. He looked at the inventor a bit cautiously before he moved further into the room.

Tony hated that he was feeling anxiety fill him up so quickly. Just looking at Steve made his mind go back to when he found out about Bucky killing his parents. He had worked so hard to try to forget the event and move on, but it was like poison in his veins. When he wasn’t anxious around Steve or Bucky, he was angry. So angry that he just saw red, and it ended up with either Bruce or Nat having to try to calm him down by attempting to get Tony grounded again, back in the present.

He was a hot mess, and he felt ashamed of himself for being like this. It hurt to look at Barnes and see his bloodied mother, though.

“Jarvis told me you needed help with something?” Steve asked before he saw Tony holding the cloth to his hand, his face now showing concern. “What happened?”

Tony fought back the urge to clench his jaw and shook his head. “It’s nothing. I just…pinched my skin. I don’t need help. Jarvis might need to be rebooted… or something,” he lied pathetically. “You can go back to… your Terminator friend.”

“Stop calling him that, Tony… he has a name.”

Tony shook his head. “I really don’t care if he has a name or not. He may be living here with all of us, but I don’t have to call him by anything other than the preordained names I pick for him.”

Steve’s concern dropped from his face and he turned around, waving Tony off. “Fine, I didn’t come here just to hear you spew your hate for my friend, Stark…”

He had started back towards the door when Tony finally gave in. “Fine! All right… I… need help tightening a loose bolt. That’s what I need your assistance with. You can put those big, steroid muscles to use again.”

Steve turned around and then moved back to where Tony had been working on his project, a simple metal table he had put together himself. He looked around for the tool and then found the wrench that Tony had flung across the room. He grabbed it and then moved back towards the table and knelt down. Steve started to screw in the bolt with the wrench, making it look too easy, as always.

“This is hardly a difficult project for you, Stark. Tell me why you couldn’t do this?” he asked, not unkindly.

Tony hated being reminded how weak he was. He didn’t need this, from Steve or Jarvis. He turned his hands into fists and then as an afterthought, he crossed them in front of his chest, just anything to stop them from shaking. “Haven’t you ever heard you shouldn’t drink and repair?”

Steve glanced over at Stark Tech coffee mug that was sitting on Tony’s desk before he finished screwing the bolt back in. “Unless that cup has alcohol in it, I’m pretty sure that you could have done that,” he gave Tony a once over, taking in the inventor’s appearance before he spoke again.

“Have you been sleeping, Tony?”

The question made Stark scoff and roll his eyes before he moved over to his desk and start to fiddle with the computer screen. “Sleep is for the weak, Rogers. Anyway, get off my back. You’re not my –" He paused. _Mother._ “Friend. I can stay up past my bedtime if I want.”

Steve’s eyebrows furrowed now. “I’m not your friend, Stark? Okay, well… how about his? I _am_ your teammate. As such, you need to prove to me that you’re okay to fight if the time comes.”

Tony sighed and nodded. “Fine, give me your best shot, Capiscle. I’m ready.”

Steve grabbed a pen from a nearby table. “Catch,” he ordered before he threw it in Tony’s general direction.

Tony reached out and tried to grab it quickly but it hit his palm and bounced off onto the floor. “Doesn’t mean anything. Best out of three.”

Steve shook his head. “It means that you’re not fit to fight with us. I’m grounding you until you get some sleep and some food in you.”

“I had coffee…” Tony argued.

“Coffee isn’t food. You need things with nutrition value.”

He knew he couldn’t argue with the Captain; he had a point. He did need to eat, but the truth was, he had better things to do… like distract himself. If he couldn’t distract himself, then he would be zero value to everyone. Tony didn’t dare tell Steve or anyone else who didn’t already know, about his nightmares he was still having. Steve would keep him grounded and out of action permanently. Too many people counted on him for that to happen.

“I need you and Jarvis to just leave me the hell alone. I’m fine, and I will continue to be fine.”

Steve sighed and was quiet for a few moments before he spoke. “Since you’re so fine, I need you to take a look at Bucky’s… shoulder.”

Tony looked up sharply at the mention of the Winter Soldier. “Why me? In case you haven’t noticed by now, Rogers, I’m not a doctor. Get Banner to do it.”

“He wants you. You know basic medical procedures…”

Tony rolled his eyes and slammed his coffee mug down after taking another sip from it before he looked at Steve with hard eyes. “Yeah, very basic. Like… band aid, antiseptic, done.”

Steve set his jaw. “Damn it, Stark! Just go take a look at him before I make sure that you don’t have an arm!”

Tony was too tired to argue any further so he walked past Steve without another word and started upstairs, glancing around for Bucky and only seeing Clint and Nat talking and joking around in the living room.

_“Sergeant Barnes is in his room, Mr. Stark…”_

The sound of Jarvis’s voice made Tony feel a bit guilty after having threatened him earlier. “Thanks, J. Appreciate it.”

_“Of course, sir. Anytime.”_

Tony took the elevator up five floors where he had cleared a room out for Bucky on the same floor as Steve and Clint, but kept Natasha and Bruce on the same floor as himself. He felt like those were the only two people he could confide in, even though he knew Nat had helped Steve. Looking back on it now, he knew that she had done the right thing.

He took his time making his way to the Asset’s room but found himself there all too soon. He rapped on the door, a bit roughly. “It’s Stark. Your pal Cap said you needed my help. Don’t tell me you’re bleeding out in there or else I might have to do something crazy and throw a party…”

Tony was glad that Steve wasn’t here to hear that, but he did feel a slight pang inside of him at the remark. He waited until Bucky opened up the door for him and let him inside. When he closed it though, Tony’s anxiety started to build up again.

“I was… just kidding about that last thing.”

A guarded look spread throughout Bucky’s face before he tensed up slightly and looked up at the circular cameras that were built into the walls. “Shut them off…”

“That’s a bad idea if I ever heard one. If it’s privacy you want, just tell me what you want to tell me. Jarvis can keep a secret if I tell him to.” Bucky’s sudden need for secrecy intrigued the genius and he moved closer inside towards him.

Bucky cleared his throat and then sat down on his bed before he looked up at Tony. “I… want a new arm.”


	2. Empty/Whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has conflicting emotions about Steve and Bucky. Nat helps Tony temporarily forget his worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the reviews and comments! They gave me a couple ideas so please keep them coming! Thanks for reading! 
> 
> You don’t need to read this part but just for those who are curious, this fic is titled after one a song by one of my favorite bands, Our Lady Peace. I felt like it was appropriate with how I’m feeling and with everything bad that’s been happening lately.

Chapter Two: Empty / Whole

.   .   .

  
  
Tony felt his heart skip a beat when he heard the man’s request and wanted to make sure that he had heard correctly. “Sorry?”

James Barnes sat down on the bed and glanced out of his window for a brief moment before he forced himself to look back at the inventor. He chewed anxiously on his bottom lip before he found the courage to speak again. “I’d like another arm… just… something I can feel, something that… doesn’t make me feel so…”

He trailed off, looking visibly frustrated he couldn’t find the word he wanted.

Tony bit his lip and nodded. “Empty,” he finished for him.

Bucky looked surprised that he knew how he was feeling but he also nodded now. “Y-Yeah, I mean… I’d be nice to be able to stand up and walk on my own, if I could balance my body out some, maybe? I don’t know.”

Tony closed his eyes and sighed, running a hand through his hair. Bucky was making it difficult to be angry at him still but he found some bit of anger from within him somehow as he thought about the veteran’s old arm, the weapon he had used to kill both his parents with. This thought started to fuel him and he spun around to face the “younger” man.

“You’re not getting one like your old arm. I can tell you that right now…”

“I’m not asking you to make one like my old one, Stark! I just want an arm, a regular goddamn arm, all right?” Bucky yelled.

Tony felt himself relax slightly. If Barnes didn’t want a mechanical arm like his old one, then he wouldn’t be such a risk anymore. Stark, himself, could feel safer with him in his Tower, and not feel like he wanted to either kill the kid or walk on eggshells around him either. He took a deep breath and looked at him as Bucky sat on the bed, almost like a little kid who was in trouble with his father.

“I’ll talk to Bruce, see what we can do,” Tony promised, his voice calm.

James was surprised at first but he looked up at Stark almost gratefully. “I know you don’t have to do this for me…”

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t have to do this but just accept that it’s happening, Barnes. Let’s get your shirt off and then we’ll look at your shoulder, make sure it’s healing all right.”

“Not on a first date, Stark…” Barnes spoke in what he supposed was supposed to be teasing tone, but came out almost shyly.

If his own wounds weren’t still fresh, Tony might have laughed at that and said a snide remark but instead, he just helped Barnes out of his long-sleeved shirt and sat down to examine his shoulder.

There were still scars around the area, and the skin still looked a bit mangled but it was, indeed, healing properly. He knew that the Winter Soldier wanted to feel not as empty anymore, which Tony could completely relate to on a cellular level, but there was a part of him that didn’t want Barnes to feel whole again either. He wanted him to feel as he felt. He wanted him to feel angry that he was missing something that he never went a day without thinking about.

“H-How’s it looking?”

It took a bit to process that Barnes had spoken again, but when he did process it, he cleared his throat and nodded before he stood up again and started to help him put his shirt back on. “Yeah, it looks good. Do you want me to bring Rogers back in to keep you company?”

Bucky seemed surprised again at the offer and nodded once.

“All right. Jarvis?”

 _“Already on it, sir.”_ A short pause. _“Captain Rogers is on his way now.”_

Tony looked at Bucky with wary eyes now before he walked out of the room, deciding not to wait for Steve to get there.

He didn’t want to talk to him if he could help it. It was a mixture of fear and anger that fueled Tony’s steps as he walked inside the elevator and was about to close it when he saw a slim hand stop the doors before the body quickly slid inside.

Tony brightened a bit. “Romanoff, fancy meeting you in here. Going up?”

She nodded. “Although not a rare occurrence,” Natasha smirked kindly. “How’re you holding up, Stark?”

He shrugged and sighed before he hit the button for Bruce’s lab on the top floor. “I’d be better if Cap and his clonesicle weren’t living in the same building as me, but what can you do? What floor?”

“Whatever floor you’re going to. Don’t forget that you’re the one who invited both of them back here,” Nat reminded him softly, glancing at the genius.

Tony smirked. “Only after the cooling off period, and only against my will. Barton didn’t even want to come here without you, and I couldn’t get you to even come here without Rogers. It was like Barrel of Monkeys. You all just… cling to each other. What’s that about, anyway?” he asked rhetorically, unable to stop himself from feeling somewhat betrayed still.

Nat smirked back at him and gently hit his arm. “Stop that, Stark. You know I’m on your side. Anyway, I think we’re all stronger together than we are separated. It shouldn’t matter that we have different political views. We all still want to protect people and each other.”

“Is it bad that I wouldn’t mind if Rogers got launched into space and I never saw him again? Because that’s how I feel right now.”

“It’ll pass, in time,” Nat answered, shrugging. She was quiet for a few moments as the elevator took them up silently. She reached over and took Tony’s hand before turning it over and seeing the dried blood before she released it slowly. “How’s it feeling?”

Tony sighed and shook his head. “Is it actually possible for _anyone_ here to keep a secret? Everyone has big mouths, that goes double for you, Jarvis, you little parrot.”

 _“I apologize, sir, but there is only so much I can do when you are the one who created my protocols,”_ Jarvis argued in his neutral metallic voice.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony waved the AI off dismissively before he looked over at Nat who was watching him with patient but firm eyes. “My hand’s fine. I’ve been through worse pain,” he replied, gently tapping his chest over the arc-reactor.

Nat nodded understandably and then stepped out first when the elevator stopped on their floor. She waited for Tony before they walked inside the lab and saw Bruce mixing different compounds at his desk. She froze when she then watched on apprehensively when he drank a test tube of dark liquid.

Tony looked on as well with wide eyes. “Testing to see if there’s a magic potion to stop the Hulk? If so, you’re in a bad place to do it.”

Bruce smiled and laughed softly, much to the ease of both his friends when nothing apparent happened. “No, actually. I’m just trying to create stronger coffee. I’m bored stiff.”

Stark chuckled to himself and walked over to him. “Well, then I’ve got good news for you, Brucey. You’re gonna like this…”

“Uh, oh, this already sounds dangerous. We’re not building another murder bot, are we, Tony?”

Tony saw Natasha glance at him out of the corner of his eyes. He shook his head and sat down across from him. He motioned for her to sit down as well so the three of them made a triangle together.

“No, no. I think I’m done trying to be a Geppetto to a homicidal Pinocchio. Umm… Barnes wants us to make him a new arm. A… regular one,” Tony said thoughtfully, scratching his chin.

Bruce nodded, taking this in and then looked up at his friend. “I think it’s a good idea. It’ll give him some balance, some… independence. What do you think?”

Tony nodded but he was quiet. He was more worried about the independence part than anything. He leaned forward and looked down at his hands. “I… don’t know.”

Natasha and Bruce exchanged a worried look with each other. She placed a gentle hand on Stark’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s all right. Are you afraid of him coming after you?”

“He would have a normal arm, Tony,” Bruce spoke reassuringly. “No more Terminator arm. Just a regular one, like ours, right? You’d at least stand a chance if he took a swing at you this time.”

Tony bit his lip and nodded but his chest felt tight and his lungs felt like one of them had deflated. His chest heaved shakily.

“I-If he has independence, then…t-then he’ll kill me too… j-just like he killed my parents a-and… R-Rogers will h-help him…”

Natasha stood up and moved over to Tony before she gently propped his body upright to help him get more air into his lungs. “Breathe, Tony… it’s okay. That’s not going to happen. We won’t let that happen, ever. No one’s going to kill you, all right? They’ll have to go through us first.”

Bruce also stood up and walked around the desk, looking from Nat to his fellow creator. “She’s right, Tony. We’ll make sure that his new arm would only function as an arm, and nothing else. He’s lost muscle mass since the Hydra one was taken off by you. He’s not as strong anymore. You’re stronger, mentally and physically.”

Stark took deep breaths, inhaling for five seconds, then exhaling for seven before he repeated the task again. It was a technique that he had learned to do when he first started having the panic attacks. He waited until he could breathe properly before he spoke.

“We’ve been fine, you know, Rogers and I, since we came back. Not… fine, per say, but… we’ve been able to ignore each other,” he spoke in almost a whisper.

Natasha gently squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. “You can still ignore him.”

“No, Nat. I can’t,” he sighed heavily. “Not when I have to create an arm for his war buddy. They’ll both be in here constantly, and I’ll have to look at both of them all day. Ignoring him will be impossible, which is why I’m thinking about not making the arm.”

Bruce bristled slightly and cleared his throat before he looked over at Tony. “Umm… all right, okay. So… then… we don’t make it for him.”

“I already told him I would,” Tony rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“Damn it, Tony,” Bruce cursed softly, leaning back in his chair. “You didn’t think to talk to me first before you agreed to it? _You_ didn’t even listen to yourself! You didn’t want to do this and yet you still told him you would!”

“Bruce…” Natasha warned gently.

Tony stood up now and turned to face Bruce. “I don’t need a list of things I didn’t think or want, Banner! I _know_ those things already because it’s _me_ that wants and thinks them! I-I don’t know why I said I’d do it! I don’t…. I just… any other time I-I’d be angry at him but right now… seeing him like he is… h-he just looks like a normal vet that I’d make an arm for anyway. He doesn’t look like a Winter Soldier anymore! That’s why I said yes!”

Bruce stood up then placed his hands on the table. “So… you want to make the arm for James, but you’re afraid of both of them being around you when you attach it,” he tried to summarize the situation.

“I don’t know. Y-Yes, I guess so… it’s just… Rogers, being there…”

Natasha could see Tony’s chest start to move erratically again and stepped into the conversation. “So we lock him out. We can do that for you at least.”

“Steve’s not going to like that…”

She gave Bruce a cold stare. “Who cares? Tony didn’t have to agree to construct an arm for the guy who murdered both his parents, but he did. Steve being there is just going to cause friction. There’s going to be enough of that to go around for a while. Do we really need any more?”

Bruce looked torn now and full of fight.

“He was brainwashed though, right? That’s what you told me after we all came back…”

Tony clenched his fists on the table and set his jaw before he looked at Bruce. “If he had raped a woman while he was having an episode, would you still be making this excuse for him, Banner?”

“That’s not the –"

Tony stiffened. “That’s not the same thing? What’s the difference between raping and murdering, really?” He asked rhetorically before he started moving over to Bruce. “Right? He was brainwashed so we should just automatically forgive everything that he did while he was under! They’re different crimes, but that’s exactly what they are, Banner! They’re crimes that he should be accounted for, but this isn’t even about Barnes, not right now. This is about Rogers!”

“What about him? He didn’t kill your parents!”

“No, but he _knew_ about this!” Tony shoved the scientist hard, causing him to stumble back a little. “He knew that Barnes killed my parents and he didn’t tell me! He kept it from me until Zemo showed me the footage! I had to find out from a bottom-feeding villain! The scum of the earth!”

Bruce looked at a loss for words but didn’t look defeated. He let Tony push him. “So then you want to lock him out then, while we give Barnes an arm? Fine! Then lock him out of the room while we do it, but you think there’s tension between you two right now? Just wait. It’s not going to get any better, Tony.”

Tony laughed humorlessly now and shook his head. He knew things wouldn’t get better now because it seemed like things never got better, or when they did, things just went to shit all over again.

“Are you going to help me then? Or am I doing this alone?”

Bruce sighed inwardly and searched his face. “You’re not alone. I’m helping you. This is going to be a two person job.”

Tony nodded and then started out of the lab before he moved into the elevator but saw Natasha slip into the elevator with him. He pressed the button for his bedroom floor.

“I just want to be alone right now, Romanoff.”

Natasha turned her body to face him with a small smirk. “I know, but that’s too bad. I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

“You don’t give up, do you?” Tony sighed, smirking back as well. It seemed to be a natural reaction whenever he saw her.

“Never, not when I care about someone.”

When the elevator stopped, Tony realized he didn’t want to go to his room anymore, so he got out of the elevator and took the stairs down to the living room. Naturally, Nat followed him.

“So let’s talk, Stark.”

“About what?” Playing innocent. He knew it wouldn’t work with Nat. He knew that she was too smart for her own good, maybe even smarter than Pepper. At the very least, more street smart.

Natasha followed him into the living room and sighed when she saw Clint laying sideways in one of the reclining chairs, watching television. She eyed him expectantly. “Can you get out, Barton?”

“You get out! I was totally here first. You guys get out…” Clint was purposely being difficult but she knew that this was just his way. He was always difficult, but he did it almost jokingly.

Things had gone back to almost how they had been before between the archer and her. Almost. Even though the two of them teased each other back and forth after they started living again at Avengers Tower, she sensed that something was amiss between them. Things weren’t quite the same, but it seemed better (or perhaps just easier) to pretend that they were than to actually admit that they had fought and hurt each other.

“I mean it, Barton! Get out before I break your neck with my thighs. I need to talk to Stark for a few minutes. You can come back later,” Nat explained.

He sighed lightly and then stood up. “Fine, but no hanky panky on that couch. I sleep there… sometimes,” he walked into the kitchen and grabbed one of the beers in the fridge before he started upstairs.

When they were alone, Nat took his hand in hers, which caused him to look over at her.

“You need to sleep before you make his new arm,” she chided softly, but there was concern in her voice. “There’s no way you can focus on this thing without food or sleep. You could hurt yourself.”

“I need a lot of things, Natasha… but you’re not worried about me hurting Barnes?”

Natasha shrugged and bit her lip before she looked down at their conjoined hands, his warm one sending heat to her cold one. “I’m just worried about you, Stark.”

“Nah, don’t. I don’t deserve your worry,” Tony rested his head on the back of the couch. “Anyway, thanks. For always having been there for me. I know it causes conflict between everyone else.”

“I don’t care about everyone else,” Nat scoffed and moved a bit closer to him. “You’re my friend. I care about you… maybe, a bit more than everyone else.”

“Oh yeah?”

She searched his face and felt him gently thumb her hand. Natasha felt something flutter inside of her, something foreign, but strong. She moved in closer and then planted a soft kiss to his lips, feeling an electric-type shock shoot through her.

She searched his eyes to gauge his reaction to the spontaneous moment they had experienced, and then watched as he moved towards her this time and started to kiss her. The two of them remained close to each other, as if the whole Tower would blow up if they moved apart. She felt something odd but safe in their movements.

She felt a shiver as Tony moved his hand over her back, staying on top of her shirt. Neither one made a move to go any further than this, but neither of them appeared to be bothered by this fact. It was understandable; they had just been through a war, enough action to last them a lifetime.

This also didn’t feel like Tony’s usual format. By this time, he would’ve carried her off to bed, if she had been anyone else. There was a mutual respect. He respected her enough to let her take the reins, put her in control. She gently ran her fingers through his hair and smiled gently.

“So what does this mean for us now?”

Tony shrugged but was smiling too. “I suppose that we’re good friends now instead of just friends?” He joked and even chuckled when she hit his chest. “I don’t know. How about… a no pressure situation. This is whatever you want it to be, and… if it stops being what you want it to be, then… we can take a step back or stop totally. How does that sound, Natasha?”

She lay down on the couch, putting her head in Tony’s lap before she grabbed the remote and started looking for a movie to watch. “That sounds like a darn good plan. I like it.”

“Good, then it’s settled then…”

“Shhh…” Nat looked up at him and put her fingers on her lip in a shushing signal. “Movieee…” she pointed to the large plasma television.

Tony smiled to himself and nodded before he gently caressed her hair with his fingers, finding comfort in this particular human being. She made him feel things that he hadn’t felt with anyone else, not even Pepper.

She made him feel whole again, and he wanted to hold onto this feeling for as long as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was a bit long. I always have trouble finding a happy middle ground.


	3. Less Friction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arguing. Morning coffee. Going back home.

Chapter Three: Less Friction

.   .  .

  
  
_“It comes to my attention that you are in need of sleep, sir. Shall I adjust the temperature in your room to a comfortable sixty-five degrees?”_

“No, you shall not. I’m not sleeping. I don’t want to sleep. Not even my own mother could make me sleep when I didn’t want to, so I doubt you’ll be able to either,” the inventor insisted as he rubbed his eyes and then took another swig of his coffee.

He had been awake all night and early morning just fixing simple things around the Tower and then started on blueprints for Bucky’s new arm, including electrical nerve impulses that would latch onto the ones in his shoulder so it would help to feel like a real arm.

It was about 6 a.m. and he could smell the fresh coffee from upstairs and knew that Rogers was awake. Only he got up that early on non-mission days. Tony attempted to ignore his now racing heart as he cleared his throat.

“J, do me a favor and add extra security so Cap can’t open that door, please.”

There was a slight pause and then an affirmative-sounding beep a few moments later.

_“I have deleted Captain Rogers from the database and have re-routed my protocols so even if he does input the proper code in the key pad, it will not unlock for him. I have also added on a facial feature recognition code for extra security. The door will open for the other Avengers but not for him. Will that be all?”_

Tony felt himself relax now and let out a breath he had been unconsciously holding in. “Yes, thank you, Jarvis. At least I know I can count on you…”

_“Of course, sir. It is essential that you feel comfortable in your own space.”_

He tried to ignore how that statement sounded too much like 2001: A Space Odyssey and decided to take the statement as if he had just been helped by a friend, which, obviously he had been. Tony continued to occasionally ask Dum-E to help him with simple tasks and Jarvis to enlarge the blueprints so he could see it in 4-D when he saw Steve coming down his stairs and then put the code in before there was a loud buzz sound that let both him and Tony know that it was incorrect.

Tony watched the other man try it again only to receive the same response as before and then looked impatiently at him from the other side of the glass.

He walked around the table and towards the glass door that separated them. From his safety, Tony felt brave, like he could say everything he wanted to say to him without worrying about repercussions, but he forced himself to remember that all that ended as soon as he was back upstairs.

“Looks like access denied for you. So sad,” the inventor shrugged unapologetically.

Steve scoffed now and shook his head.

“Really? You’re that much of a coward that you won’t talk to me without something or someone in between us?”

Tony paced slowly in front of the door. “Hmm, let’s see. You jammed your shield into my chest, breaking part of my arc-reactor that I had to then, spend hours fixing. Excuse me if I’m all out of sweet forgiveness.”

“This is… this is bullshit, Tony, and you know it. There’s no way that I could have that much of an impact on someone as narcissist and bullheaded as you. You’re just too cowardly to face me by yourself without Jarvis or anyone else protecting you,” Steve growled.

“YOU DIDN’T TELL ME ABOUT MY PARENTS!” Tony suddenly yelled, slamming a fist on the glass.

Steve set his jaw. “That’s what this is about then? Your parents? You know, I’m getting pretty sick of you using your daddy issues as an excuse to not talk to me, Stark.”

Tony felt something within in be ripped out like a cord out of his intestines. He sneered coldly up at Steve and as he did, he remembered what he had told Natasha and Bruce yesterday.

_“We’ve been fine, you know, Rogers and I, since we came back. Not… fine, per say, but… we’ve been able to ignore each other.”_

That had been a lie, he saw now. They hadn’t been fine since they had come back; they had simple pretended to be. They had both pushed down their bitter feelings towards each other and let it stew inside of them only to be let out when they were both alone with each other.

What a fucking mess this was. This was like an atomic bomb going off.

“Fuck that, and fuck you, Cap. I’m getting sick of you trying to pretend like we’re best friends. We can’t be that, no after everything that happened,” Tony stared at him coldly. “I can’t just… _talk_ to you. This isn’t like you broke one of my glasses or accidentally hit my suit with your shield on a mission!

He saw Steve swallow hard but his eyes were still unkind.

“I get that we can’t go back to being how we were before, like family, but you can at least start by getting over your baggage, Stark. I didn’t kill your parents and it’s unfair that you keep acting like their deaths were entirely my fault!”

Tony hit the enforced glass with his hand again and felt grateful it hadn’t broken.

“YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE KILLED THEM! NOT TELLING ME THE TRUTH DOESN’T MAKE YOU LESS OF A BASTARD!”

Steve seemed surprised by Tony’s sudden yelling again but didn’t back down. He stood up straight, his shoulders back, his eyes dark. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“You can’t hide in there forever, Stark. You have to come out sometime and face your fears. I’m sorry that I’m one of your fears but you’re going to need to get over that. Remember, I have the authority to pull you off missions if I don’t believe you can function properly.”

Tony felt his blood turn to ice. “How can I forget? You constantly remind me of that well-known fact.”

“I’m serious, Tony. Pull yourself together or I’m pulling you off future missions.” With that, Steve turned around, nearly bumping into Natasha in her pajamas and almost spilling the two mugs of coffee she had in her hands.

She moved around him with quick and careful reflexes and waited until he was out of sight before punching in the security code. The sound of decompressed air echoed in the room as the door opened and let her in before closing and locking behind her, almost protective of Tony.

Tony felt relief wash over him when a smiling Natasha made her way over to him and handed him a hot cup of coffee before sitting down Indian-style in a nearby chair as she sipped her own.  “Romanoff, you’re my savior.”

She chuckled softly and then her face turned semi-serious. “I heard you two yelling from upstairs. I guess things aren’t so fine after all between you two.”

Tony shrugged as he dumped his cold coffee and started to sip his fresh one gratefully. “He’s threatening to pull me off future missions if I become unstable,” then, with a second thought he added, “More unstable.”

She took another drink and searched Tony’s face. “You have a right to feel how you feel, Tony. It doesn’t make you unstable.”

He had already started shaking his head before she could finish that sentence.

“You know as well as me that my friction with Rogers makes me a liability. He needs to be able to trust me, and me with him. It doesn’t work, Nat. We can’t trust each other right now. Maybe he’s right to pull me. It gives me time to work on the kid’s arm, anyway,” Tony shrugged, trying not to show how much the situation irritated him.

She was quiet for a long time as the two of them sipped their morning joe. Tony started to clean up the lab a little bit before he went back over to her and sat across from the assassin.

“What do you think, Romanoff?”

She smirked a little. “I think you can stop calling me by my surname and you can just call me Natasha or Nat. In regards to Steve, I think you guys should just give each other some distance for now. Maybe it is best if you stay back for the next mission.”

This answer surprised Tony and made him look up from his coffee before he leaned back in his chair.

“Really?” He wet his lips. “Then… I guess that’s what I’ll do. God knows none of you need me telling you all what to do.”

“I need you, Stark.”

He chewed on his bottom lip and decided to change the subject to avoid his discomfort about being left behind. “Oh, I see how it is. You can call me by my surname but I can’t call you by yours. Got it.”

She leaned forward and placed a gentle hand on his knee.

“I know what you’re doing. You always do this when you feel uncomfortable talking about something. It’s not a huge mystery,” she spoke softly. “Don’t bottle up what you’re feeling anymore, Tony. It’s dangerous, especially for you.”

“How do you figure?”

Without missing a beat, as if she had predicted he would ask this question, Natasha instantly answered with “Because you’re either going to end up hurting Steve, Steve hurting you, or… you’re going to self-destruct. We’ve seen it before.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” Tony looked helplessly at her. “I’ll be stuck here with… _him_ … while you go fight the baddies. I feel like I’m being grounded.”

“Well technically you are,” Nat chuckled.

He tried to remain serious but when he saw her smile and heard her laugh, he ended up laughing as well. “Good point, Nat. So is anyone else awake?”

“I saw Clint on the couch with the TV on but I couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or not.”

Stark’s anger had disappeared and worry replaced it instead. He still cared about Clint, and he knew the archer’s past. He hadn’t held any grudges against Clint since the war between them ended and the man didn’t seem to have held any grudges against Tony either.

He stood up and ran a hand through his hair. “Why’s he not sleeping in his room?”

She looked up at him as she watched Stark stand up but made no movement to stand as well. Natasha looked perfectly content with her coffee. “I’m not sure. We don’t talk as much as we used to. He’s closed off when it comes to me. Want to see if you have better luck?”

“I think I might do that. Jarvis, would you mind sending Cap out for groceries?”

_“Not at all, sir. It would be absolute pleasure.”_

“Is that so you don’t have to see him when you go talk to Clint or so you can purposely inconvenience him?” she asked curiously.

Tony shrugged and took another drink from his mug before he set it down on his desk. “Both. Are you coming too or are you going to stay down here and admire my handiwork?”

She still nursed her coffee, both hands wrapped around the mug as she smiled up at him. “I’m going to stay down here and make friends with Dum-E, but I was also thinking about writing up something I would like for a mission, if you don’t mind making it, of course.”

He smiled back. “Of course. Use whatever you want and leave it out for me. I’ll take a look at it later. Stay as long as you want; just lock up when you’re finished.”

She stood up now and moved over to the blueprint desk slowly before she glanced over at him. “Got some top secret Stark stuff in here you don’t want anyone else to see?”

Tony chuckled. “Always. That’s me, top secret.”

_“Pardon the interruption, Mr Stark, but Captain Rogers has just left the Tower.”_

“Meet up together later?”

He nodded in affirmation and gave her a kind smile before he hurried upstairs. Tony peaked his head out first to make sure there no one else was awake and when he was met with silence, except for the sounds of the television in the living room, and then crept quietly near where Clint lay.

When he was close enough and saw the archer’s eyes open and saw him stretch out his legs, Tony walked all the way inside before he searched Clint’s face. His footsteps hadn’t been quiet when he had entered fully so Clint was either ignoring him or his hearing aids were out but nowhere to be seen.

“You picked the wrong side, Barton.”

No answer and no indication Clint had even heard him. If there were any five words that angered the members of the team the most, it was those words. He decided to try again.

“You’re the worst archer I’ve ever known.”

He knew that was a straight up lie, and if Barton heard him, he knew that he would say so to him. Tony moved closer to him and then tapped on Clint’s foot.

The man jumped slightly in surprise and he looked up at Tony questioningly. It irritated him that Clint wasn’t wearing his hearing aids but knew that he could read lips. He opened the shades on a window to let him light and then looked at him.

“Why aren’t you wearing your hearing aids? Put them in.”

Clint sighed audibly before he reached into his pockets and pulled out the aids before he shoved them both into his ears. Once he adjusted them, he looked back up at Tony. “I just woke up. Jesus… I don’t wear them when I sleep and I hate wearing them, period. Did you come in here just to harass me, Stark?”

“Why are you sleeping out here and not in your room? If you don’t like it, there’s at least several dozen other rooms you could pick from on any of the other floors…”

Clint lay on his back still and shrugged but his body was tensed up. “I’m just used to sleeping on a couch. I can’t sleep in a regular bed. At least not all night. It’s weird for me.”

Tony walked over and sat in a chair, still looking at Clint. “Do you miss your place in Bed-Stuy?”

“I don’t miss paying the rent, but I miss everything else about it,” the archer admitted. “I had a whole life there before I had to stay here. I had a dog there and everything.”

“What happened to the dog?” Tony asked gently.

“A friend in Hell’s Kitchen is taking care of it for me.”

Tony thought about something for a moment and chewed on his lower lip in thought. He swallowed hard. “If you want, you can go back home until it’s mission time. I can have Jarvis alert you when you need to get back here.”

The offer made Clint perk up slightly. “What’s the catch?”

“I don’t know, Barton. Come back once in a while? I know that Natasha won’t appreciate what I’m doing but maybe we need a longer cooling off period, you know? So what do you say?”

Clint pondered the suggestion and after a few minutes, he sat up. “You’re not screwing with me, are you, Stark? I mean, I can actually leave? No one’s going to try and stop me?”

Tony chuckled weakly as he shook his head. “No, you can leave. Go and pack before I change my mind,” he teased.

He wasn’t exactly sure what compelled him to do this but he felt like the Tower would feel less tense without Barton there. Tony knew that things were complicated now between him and Natasha. He just hoped that he would be doing her a favor.

Clint stood up and moved past Tony before he headed up to his room to start packing his things. He took a breath in and then let it go before he then decided to go upstairs to see Bruce.

Things hadn’t ended well between them yesterday and that made Stark nervous. The two men had always seemingly gotten along with each other and the less friction between everyone, the better. The less anxiety Tony felt, and that was always a good thing.

He headed upstairs to Bruce’s lab and took another deep breath before he knocked on Banner’s door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long chapter with not much happening but things will pick up soon.


	4. Distracted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Tony science bro it up.

Chapter Four: Distracted

.   .   .

 

  
Tony felt his heart in his throat as Bruce looked up from his desk and then motioned for Tony to come inside. As he did so, he felt the sterile air of the room hit his face and relax him a bit. He took a deep breath and started towards the doctor tentatively but didn’t sit down.

“Are you ready to make the kid his arm?”

Bruce appeared caught slightly off guard. “Right now? We need at least a week to draw up blueprints and then Steve’s approval.”

The inventor looked carefully at the other man. “I agree about the blueprints, but we don’t need the Cap’s approval. It’s not his arm, it’s Barnes’ arm, and the only person that needs its approval is him.”

Bruce leaned back in his chair and looked up at Tony, sighing.

“So we draw up the outlines for his arm, then show it to him to make sure it’s the way he wants it. We can do that,” Bruce nodded.

Tony imitated the motion as well, feeling grateful for the doctor was also in agreement. He stood there somewhat awkwardly, silent before he cleared his throat after several moments. “I suppose this is the part where I apologize.”

“What for?”

Tony rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “About our disagreement the other day, about locking Rogers out of the room when we operate.”

Bruce shook his head, much to Tony’s surprise. “No, I think you’re right. I think that might be a good idea after all. Bucky’s his friend, but we can’t have him in the same room as the three of us, especially with what happened between the two of you recently. I was in the wrong, and… I’m sorry, Tony.”

If he hadn’t been standing here, Stark wouldn’t have believed what he was hearing. He felt himself relax a bit more and he shrugged pathetically, still thinking about Cap’s words as they continued to echo in his head.

_“I get that we can’t go back to being how we were before, like family, but you can at least start by getting over your baggage, Stark. I didn’t kill your parents and it’s unfair that you keep acting like their deaths were entirely my fault!”_

Bruce searched the genius’s eyes, seeing Tony’s internal conflict. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

For a moment, Stark cursed himself for being so transparent, but then pushed it aside. “Just… something that Rogers said to me earlier…” his eyebrows knitted together in thought, and he realized he had been grinding his teeth as well.

“You don’t need to hold everything in anymore. I’m here for you, and so is everyone else. You’re all on the same team again, Tone. It’s not fair to force everyone to choose sides even after the war is over.”

He swallowed hard, hoping to push the big lump back down his throat to no avail.  All he could do was force himself to nod before he wet his lips in thought and opened his mouth to speak. “Do you think it’s unfair that I keep blaming my parents’ deaths on Rogers and taking my anger out on him?”

Bruce seemed to be mulling the question over in his head. “That’s a tough question, Tony. It seems to me… he _did_ know that Bucky did it, and he withheld the information from you for a very long time, even when you two were working together. I believe that he didn’t know what Barnes did as he was doing it, so I don’t think he could’ve stopped him, but… I think it was wrong of him to not tell you about it for so long.”

The inventor took this information in and chewed on his bottom lip. Maybe he _was_ justified in being angry at Steve and perhaps Steve just didn’t want to admit that he had been in the wrong. The Cap was too proud to admit fault; he had been this way during the war as well but in his eyes, he felt like what Tony had been doing was wrong. It was all subjective.

“You didn’t really answer my question, Banner.”

Bruce sighed heavily before shrugging and looking up at his friend helplessly. “I… I don’t know, Tony. I personally would be angry too and I think it’s wrong to put the blame entirely on Bucky when he was brainwashed, but we’ve already had this conversation and it didn’t end well between us, if you recall.”

Tony nodded now in understanding and took a breath before he let it out again. “At least you’re honest.”

“I’ll always be honest with you, Tony, you know that.” When he said Tony nod in thanks, he spoke again to defuse any leftover tension. “I’ll come down to your lab and we can make the outline for the arm. Why don’t you go make us some lunch while I finish up here and we can meet in the lab?”

Tony nodded obediently. “Whatever you want, Banner.”

The doctor gave him a friendly smile before returning his work again. Tony turned around and left the room before he started for the kitchen to make the two off them sandwiches.

He had made it to the elevator and was going down when the elevator unexpectedly stopped at another floor, the doors opening. He saw Clint Barton quickly sneak into the elevator and when the doors closed, he glanced over at Tony.

“I decided to take you up on the offer of going back home…”

Tony nodded, unsurprised. “I see that. I’m glad, Barton. Home is where the dog is.”

Clint laughed and smirked slightly before nodding in agreement. “No tears now,” he joked. “And don’t you even think about going on your knees and begging me to stay.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Tony smirked back at him, not unkindly.

The elevator opened the doors to the ground floor and the two men walked out, Tony walking Clint towards the front door. The archer looked almost at a loss for words when he turned to say goodbye to Tony. He bit his lip but the other man spoke first.

“Don’t be a stranger now,” Tony spoke, holding his hand out.

Clint nodded and took his hand firmly in his own before he gently shook it. “Never. You have all my friends here.”

Tony forced himself not to remember that Clint was still friends with Steve, no matter how much it hurt to think about that fact. He reluctantly let go of his hand and searched Clint’s eyes. “You’re always welcome here, Barton. You’re still a good friend to me… now that the war’s over and we’ve kissed and made up.”

“Funny you use that phrase, Stark… I thought that that’s what you did with Nat yesterday?” Barton asked cheekily.

Tony cringed and sighed before he shook his head. “I don’t kiss and tell but apparently she does.”

Clint opened the door and held his bag in his hand, smiling. “Nah, don’t blame her. I just didn’t go into my room when you told me to. I saw it, but I was hiding. We’ve had our issues with each other, you and me, and we’ve made up, but I swear to god, man. Hurt her, and I’ll kill you, Stark.”

Tony couldn’t really tell if Clint as now being serious or not, but his smile had faded considerably with the last statement. “Feel free to try, Barton. Now get out of here!” He forced himself to laugh before he changed his mind completely and forced him to stay.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going, I’m going… behave, children.”

With that, Tony watched as Clint climbed into the back of the taxi and watched it drive away from the Tower. He waited until it was out of sight before he half reluctantly went back into the building and saw Natasha standing in the doorway with a suspicious look in her eyes.

“Did you tell him to leave?”

Tony shook his head. “I didn’t tell him to stay…” he trailed off, feeling partially guilty, scratching his chin. “I wanted him to go back home, where he actually felt at home. He couldn’t sleep here. The man needs to sleep.”

A smirk slowly appeared on Natasha’s face. “There’s sleeping pills for that, Stark.”

Tony shrugged and sighed before he walked over and placed his hands carefully on the woman’s hips, as if he wanted to make sure that she was one-hundred percent okay with his touch. When she mimicked his gesture by putting her own hands on his waist, he moved in a bit closer and looked her in her eyes.

“It wasn’t just sleeping,” he whispered. “I know that the whole thing between Rogers and I had him caught in the middle like a kid in the middle of fighting parents. It’s not fair on him. He’s still my friend and I just want him to feel comfortable. Are you upset I did this?”

Natasha searched his face and then shook her head. “He already said goodbye to me. He stopped by my room earlier and told me you gave the go-ahead for him to go home.”

Tony absentmindedly caressed her waist. “Why did you ask if I told him to leave then if you knew the truth?”

She shrugged and then placed her arms around him. “I wanted to see what you would say.”

He felt his body relax when she did this and pulled her gently into him. He wanted to continue to feel relaxed, for as long as he could. She matched his breathing with his as they just held each other for a long time in the hallway. After several minutes, the agent was the one who broke the silence.

“You all right, Tony?” she asked in a whisper, running her fingers through his hair.

He nodded against her, afraid he might ruin this moment by saying something, anything.

“Talk to me,” she pleaded softly. “Tell me what’s going on in that big head of yours.”

He thought his words out carefully before he finally did speak again.

“I got sidetracked. I need to bring lunch back to Bruce while we make up outlines for Barnes’ arm.”

She didn’t look deterred by his change of subject as she tried to be serious. She knew that opening up was one thing, amongst many, that Tony Stark was awful at. “Do you need help with anything?”

“Just… keep Rogers occupied?”

She smiled gently and nodded. “I can do that,” she seemed to look slightly hesitant for a moment before she spoke what was on her own mind. “Will… I see you later?”

Tony felt a warmth run through him; the fact that Natasha still wanted to hang out even though he had danced around her question to him made him feel like maybe he would actually tell her what he wanted to tell her later.

He ran a hand through his hair. “I’d like that. Your room or mine?” he winked playfully at her as he laced his hand with hers.

She chuckled throatily and managed another smirk. “I thought maybe we’d watch another movie, actually. So… neither, and the living room.”

He laughed as well and nodded. “Well, I have to say, you’re missing out, Romanoff, but… yeah, a movie with you sounds great. It’s a date.” He leaned in and kissed her lips lightly and had turned to leave when he felt her pull him into a deeper kiss.

The action surprised him but he welcomed it, and returned her deep kiss with his own, letting their tongues collide like waves in an ocean. When he finally forced himself to pull away, they were both out of breath, and as a result, they both laughed before going their separate ways, Natasha upstairs and Tony to the kitchen.

He had just finished making BLT sandwiches when he heard Jarvis’s voice in the room.

_“Doctor Banner is worried you might have gotten lost in your own house. I also would like to let you know that Captain Rogers is five minutes away from the Tower.”_

Tony put the sandwiches on a plate. “Thank you, J. Would you please let Natasha know so she can keep him far away from me?”

_“Of course, sir.”_

Tony took the plates and started quickly towards Tony’s lab. When he entered the garage, he already saw Bruce at a desk, listening to some of Tony’s less heavy and loud music. The doctor stood up upon seeing Tony though, and opened the door for him before taking one of the plates.

“I was worried about you…”

“So I heard. I got sidetracked by Barton leaving. I’m ready to work now,” he set his own plate down and went back to his door and locked it to relax his own paranoia. He felt safer with his locks. He felt safer with his Jarvis and his Nat, and his work.

Tony tried to ignore Steve’s voice in his head telling him that he needed to get over his issues, and that he couldn’t lock him out forever. Stark begged to differ.

He would do what he had to in order to continue living, call it a form of self-care. That’s what Tony needed right now; to feel safe, Steve Rogers be damned. Tony knew he needed to focus at the task at hand: making an arm for a veteran. Brainwashed or not, the more he thought about it, the more he decidedly sided with Bruce on the issue, for better or worse.

The truth was, Barnes was brainwashed, and he wasn’t “there” when he killed Tony’s parents, and Steve had covered up for his friend and kept it a big secret from Tony even after all the time they all spent training and talking and hanging out. He still didn’t completely forgive Barnes for what happened, but he needed to at least pretend that Barnes was still human, more so now without the Hydra arm, and he needed a replacement one to help balance him out and help him to live a more normal life without constant help.

That was the goal right now. That was what Tony had to focus on, even if all of it was a lie. Now that Barnes was sans Hydra, he was more afraid of Steve and his sociopathic tendencies to keep harmful, personal secrets.


	5. Lockout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Nat have another movie night.

Chapter Five: Lockout

.     .     .

 

Tony rubbed his eyes tiredly as he looked at the clock on the wall that read 7:45 pm. He and Bruce had managed to make the general outline but needed Bucky’s dimensions for the rest to help make the arm look as real and be as functional as possible.

A voice broke their soft, occasional voices in the room.

_“Sir, Agent Romanoff requested I ask you if you are still planning on keeping your date with her tonight.”_

Tony cursed to himself but stood up and stretched before glancing at Bruce who just smirked and shook his head. “Yeah, I got this. Go to your date, you playboy.”

“Has anyone ever told you how generous and selfless you are?” Tony winked playfully before he started for the glass door of the lab.

The doctor chuckled but then tapped the desk with his pen, as if he just remembered something. “Oh, hey. Is it okay with you if I invite Bucky down here so I can get started on the measurements?”

Tony contemplated this in his head. “I was actually thinking we’d do that tomorrow, if you don’t mind. I didn’t want to drag Barnes in here when it’s going to take at least an hour and I want to be there for that, if it’s okay?”

Bruce nodded in understanding and without judgement. “Aye, aye, Captain Sly.”

Tony chuckled and smiled. “I see what you did there.” He left the room and headed upstairs towards the living room where Nat was sitting with her legs pressed into her chest as she read a book. “What’re you reading?”

Natasha put her book down and looked up at him with a small smile on her face. “Just something to kill time while I waited for my date to show up.”

“Sorry, Nat. I got caught up in my work. Here’s some advice for you, too little, too late; never date a perfectionist.”

She pretended to look impressed by the advice but was still smiling. “Wow, I wish you would’ve told me that information before you started to make out with me…”

The inventor rolled his eyes and walked over to where he kept all his movies and started to look through them. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you were the one who kissed _me_ , but who’s keeping track, right?”

She was silent but he could tell she was watching him. He sighed tiredly as he flip through the massive collection.

“We don’t have to watch something, Tony. I know you’re probably exhausted. You’ve been working really hard on Barnes’ arm. I’m not going to hold it against you if you don’t feel like watching a movie,” she promised, her voice gentle.

He glanced over at her and shrugged. “I don’t think I could even sleep if I wanted to. Every time I close my eyes I have nightmares, and before you even suggest it, sleeping pills don’t work.”

Natasha put her legs down and rested her head on her hand as she leaned against the couch. “You just need a heavier dosage, Stark. You can’t just give up on medication because one doesn’t work for you. You just need to keep trying.”

He finally decided on _Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels_ and put the disk in before walking over to Nat and lifted her feet up carefully as he sat down and then placed her feet on his lap. The two of them started to watch the movie in a surprisingly comfortable silence when Tony looked over at her.

“Trying is tiring. I don’t want to try anymore, Natasha,” he spoke in almost a whisper.

His words caused her to look over at him as well now, her eyes filling with worry. “Giving up is too easy. I’ve never known the great Tony Stark to just give up on anything, and I won’t let him start now.”

He gave her a weak smile as he began to massage her feet with his hands.

“Promise?”

She smiled warmly and nodded. “Of course. Anyway, if you give up, then who will I have to complain about things to?”

This made the genius laugh. “Never mind the other five other guys who come in and out of here, then. I bet they’d listen to what you had to complain about.”

Natasha scoffed. “Are you kidding? They barely listen to me when I tell them to clean up your kitchen when they’re done in it.”

“They’re men, Romanoff. Us men rarely listen…”

She sighed but was smirking and became silent as she watched him massage her feet. “You don’t have to do that, Tony. I don’t want you to feel obligated to act like a boyfriend. I know it’s something you’re not used to.”

He didn’t stop rubbing her soft feet as he became deep in thought.

“I usually try to keep things easy with one-night stands, but sometimes things don’t work out that way. I’ve been a boyfriend before and even that didn’t go all that smoothly, if I’m honest. Pepper was the first woman I considered a girlfriend, someone that I loved more than myself,” he admitted.

“You hate yourself though, so that’s not really a difficult feat for you, loving someone more than yourself.”

He was barely paying attention to the movie anymore but this didn’t even feel like a real serious talk for him. This felt so natural, and not stressful for him, not like it might feel with anyone else.

“You might have a good point there…”

She watched him still, her head no longer resting on her hand and instead, resting on the back of the couch, her eyes watching him intently. “Are we still whatever I want us to be?”

“Of course,” he nodded once. “This is all you, Nat. There’s no pressure or anything. I’m easygoing.”

She gave him a kind smile before she spoke again.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to use the L word yet, but I know that I care about you, Stark, more than I’ve cared about anyone else in my life,” she confessed, her own voice now quiet.

He would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel the exact same way, but he didn’t feel the need to agree with her. On some level, Tony felt like she already know this, so he stayed quiet for a long time, his fingers expertly massaging her muscles, ignoring the slight pain that was creeping into his joints.

“I like you a lot, Tony…”

He gave her a warm smile. “I like you a lot too, Nat.”

She now tucked her feet underneath her to help push herself up and move closer towards Tony. He placed his arm on the back of the couch, watching her movements. Natasha kissed his lips tenderly before she leaned in the crook of his body and moved his arm so it was now wrapped around her own shoulders.

Tony smiled in their kiss and loved how their bodies seem to move with each other in simple movements that felt so natural, without any expectations. The two of them turned their attentions back to the movie until they both eventually fell asleep in that position.

  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
Tony Stark felt sore when he woke up early the next morning, the Blu-ray player having shut off by itself after several hours of being ignored. It was a good kind of sore though because the first thing he could smell was the very faint scent of Natasha’s Tommy Girl perfume.

The spice of it somehow made him feel relaxed and safe. He was still partially in shock that he had even been able to sleep at all. Granted, he hadn’t actually fallen asleep until around 3am, but he had, in fact, felt himself go into REM sleep eventually. Regardless of him still feeling tired, he didn’t care. He had been able to be close to Natasha Romanoff and better yet, she had voluntarily allowed him to be close to her, both emotionally and physically, even I all they did was hold each other.

It had been enough.

Tony carefully stood up, gently placing Nat’s waist, back, neck and eventually her head on the space he had just stood up from. Waiting for a moment to make sure she was still asleep and he hadn’t woken her, he slinked off into the kitchen and started to make the coffee for everyone in the Tower.

He was deep in his own head when he heard a voice.

“Hey, umm… can I just… talk to you for a minute?”

Tony nearly jumped out of his own skin as he turned around and saw Bucky. He had to admit that he was grateful it hadn’t turned out to be Steve. That was the moment when Tony realized who the real enemy was; when he was more terrified of Steve Rogers than Bucky Barnes, and that was something he never thought he would’ve believed before the war.

His heart beat gradually slowed down to a normal level again and Stark took out all the coffee cups, with the exception of one for Steve. “Yeah, sure. Shoot, Big Daddy…”

There was silence on Barnes’ end and Tony turned around to see a baffled look on the man’s face.

“Big Daddy, uhh…” he trailed off, trying to figure out how to put the reference to terms the ex-Hydra soldier would understand. “It’s a character from a video game, Bioshock. It was the main guy in it who had a drill for an arm.”

“Oh,” was all the other man said in acknowledgement before he stood there awkwardly.

“Sorry, forget it. Not important. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Tony asked gently.

James Barnes appeared to remember why he had come out here to the kitchen and he bit his lip somewhat nervously. “I just wanted to see how my arm was coming along…” He answered somewhat hesitantly.

Tony straightened up. “Oh, right,” he spoke softly, still thinking about Natasha. “I’m actually glad you came out to talk to me, believe it or not. Well, it looks like you’re getting better at balancing on your own, so that’s great. We have the outlines set up for the new arm but we’re going to need you down there with us, hopefully today at some point, so we can finish drawing out the dimensions for it.”

“Oh, sure. I can come down after breakfast? Steve said he was going to make some eggs for the two of us.”

“Yeah, take your time… and…” Tony trailed off, running a hand through his hair. “Never mind. Just…come down when you can,” he gave a weak smile. “Is there anything else?”

Bucky shook his head.

“All right. Well, help yourself to the coffee and I’ll see you soon,” Tony spoke kindly before he poured himself some coffee and walked into the living room to see Nat still asleep.

He smiled to himself, not wanting to wake her and also not wanting to leave coffee for her in case she slept in late and the coffee became cold. He knelt down and gently kissed her hair before nonchalantly breathing her shampoo in and then standing up again. He placed a blanket over her and then poured a second cup of coffee before he disappeared downstairs.

He was surprised to see Bruce just waking up when he heard the door to the kitchen close behind him.

“Jarvis, can you open the door for me? My hands are kind of full.”

There was a millisecond pause before the door beeped and then clicked to signal it was now unlocked.

“Thanks, J…” He stepped inside and placed the mug in front of the waking doctor before he went back and closed it again, the door locking again automatically. “When Barnes comes down, I’ll need you to unlock the door for him and then lock it again behind him. Can you do that for me, J?”

_“For you, sir, anything.”_

“Hmm… can’t tell if you’re being sincere or sarcastic but I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt this time.”

_“Very good, sir.”_

He glanced at Bruce who was now sipping his coffee. “Late night, Brucey?”

The doctor chuckled and nodded as he blinked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “I just wanted to do as much as I could do to speed up the process. I’ve got all the outlines finished for it and drawn up on the computer. All we need is our one-armed man.”

“It’s funny you mention that. He’s actually going to be coming down here after he’s finished with breakfast,” Tony explained as he sat down and moved his finger over the electronic drawing board to put it up at his eye level.

“Oh, well… there we go, then. Did you tell him not to bring Steve with him?”

“I did not,” Tony replied simply, using two fingers to expand the outline of the new arm. “I’m going to have Natasha be the bouncer for this event. Jarvis? Is she awake yet?”

_“Yes, sir. She’s currently watching the morning news and having her coffee. Would you like me to send her downstairs?”_

“Yes, please. Tell her she can bring her coffee with her,” he requested.

There was a momentary pause before the AI’s voice came over the system for a final time. _“Agent Romanoff is on her way down to you now, Mr. Stark.”_

“Excellent.”

Bruce scratched at his temple and looked over at his friend. “Why didn’t you tell Bucky to just… slip away from Steve and come down here alone?”

Tony shrugged and looked down at his desk, pretending there was something interesting on it and doing everything he could to avoid looking at Bruce. He was feeling ridiculously petty and pathetic suddenly, having Natasha be security to keep Steve from coming in with Bucky. He couldn’t man up and tell Steve to fuck off himself. He felt a hard lump in his throat at how pitiful he as. He should be stronger. He should be better. He should be better, if not for himself, then for Natasha.

Why couldn’t he be that person?

“Tony,” Bruce urged, wanting an answer.

“Because I’m a coward, Bruce… is that what you want to hear?” He sighed heavily, finally forcing himself to look over at him. “And because if Bucky just… sneaked away from Rogers, he’d know something was up and he’d come down here anyway, so honestly, I didn’t think it would make much difference.”

Bruce seemed at a loss for words now and just nodded, as if afraid to keep pushing him.

Tony took two hands and crunched the 3-D version of the arm before he took a long drink of his now lukewarm coffee. He took a deep breath to calm himself and had glanced up in time to see Nat punching in the code and entered the lab before closing it behind her.

Seeing his demeanor, she quickly made her way over to him, still in her pajamas from this morning and a cup of coffee in her hands, her eyes filled with worry again.

“Hey, what’s going on? Jarvis said you needed me…”

He searched her face and he gently placed a hand on her waist, feeling like touching her would help calm him, and it did to a point. Finding this curious, Tony moved in a bit closer to her side and breathed her in. She smelled like his cologne and like home. The good kind of home that you make with someone you care deeply about.

Not the one you grew up with.

“This is… abnormally difficult for me, but… Bucky is going to be coming down here and I wouldn’t doubt that Cap will be coming down as well. I… I need….” Tony paused, his mind racing at the thought of having to confront Steve. “I wouldn’t normally ask this of you since we’re… together now but I just need you to… to…”

Natasha set her coffee down on the table and placed her arms around his neck before looking into his eyes. “To keep him out. Jarvis could just lock him out, couldn’t he?”

“He could lock him out but Rogers is strong enough to punch through the glass and break the lock on it if he really wanted in. I’m just trying to minimize the damage to my lab. It’s… it’s pathetic of me to ask you, isn’t it?” He asked in a knowing type of voice. “I’m sorry, Nat. It’s… wrong of me to ask you to be my… bodyguard or whatever.”

“Hey, stop that,” Natasha hushed him kindly, gently placing a finger on his lips and then kissed his chin. “Listen to me, Tony Stark. Needing help doesn’t make you pathetic, and I’m honored you asked me. It’s not always a bad thing to feel weak or to need help. It’s strong of you just to ask.”

He ran a hand through her hair admiringly. “Thank you. I just don’t know what to do. I feel so pathetic.”

Natasha cocked her head to the side slightly and shook her head before she placed her hands on his waist. “It’s really fine, Stark. Don’t sweat it. He’s not getting past me. You just worry about Barnes and yourself.”

Tony let out a sigh of relief before he nodded and then leaned in and pressed a soft, grateful kiss to her forehead and lingered there for what felt like a long time. He finally forced himself to move away when he saw Bucky coming down the stairs.

Natasha quickly moved into position as Jarvis did as Tony had ordered earlier and opened the door for the ex-soldier and then locked it again after the man had entered the lab. Several moments later, Steve also had made his way into the lab, obviously looking for Bucky and not looking happy when he saw that his friend had already made to Tony’s side of the glass.

Tony glanced over at Bucky and helped him over to the desk to sit down. “Hey, ready to get down to business?”

James Barnes nodded and watched as Bruce and Tony started to measure the dimensions of his good arm to try to match it up with it so it would look identical and not so out of place. “He’s upset I’m doing this.”

Bruce glanced up and looked over at Steve as he paced the lab door like a hungry tiger waiting to go after prey and he chuckled. “I think you’re right.”

Tony swallowed hard and gave Bucky a weak smile. “Don’t worry about him for now. Natasha’s got it under control. She’s our bodyguard while we do this. He might not like it but he’s stuck out there for at least an hour so he can pace all he wants. He’s not getting through her.”

At his words, he noticed Barnes relax considerably and a sick part of him felt satisfied. Satisfied that this man also seemed unnerved by the Captain, and that he wasn’t the only one. Bucky’s uneasy demeanor seemed to be proof that Steve was getting out of control, and whether he admitted it or not, his own past was controlling him as much as Tony’s past was.


	6. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is finally grateful to love someone that isn't himself.

.    .    .

 

  
Tony did his best to ignore Steve who as pacing back and forth outside his lab like a true predator. Every once in a while, he would yell for Jarvis to let him in or try to override his orders, but he didn’t get very far because Natasha would tell him not to come in.

At the end of the hour when they were just about finished measuring the exact dimensions for Bucky’s arm, Tony saw out of the corner of his eye Nat open the door and go out to where Steve was but then close the door behind her. He watched carefully Steve’s movements to see what he was doing, making sure that he wasn’t making any sudden movements towards her.

Maybe Tony was overreacting, but he didn’t trust Rogers anymore, especially with his life when he could so easily take it. After all, Steve was a super soldier his father had created and all Tony had going for him in the way of strength were his iron suits but even those could be dented by the Captain. He knew how strong Natasha was but he knew that she was still strong to a fault as well, and if he wanted to, Steve could do some real damage to her as well.

“It’s okay, Tony… I’m watching them for you…” Bruce murmured under his breath to the inventor.

Tony nodded in acknowledgement and when he finished his part, he started writing down numbers on his StarkPad, his thoughts always on the woman he had started falling for. He forced himself to focus back on what he was doing and he saw Bucky look especially nervous.

“What are you nervous for? I’m the one who actually has to build the arm to fit your body,” he kid softly.

The other man chewed on his lip anxiously and he took a deep breath. “Steve won’t like me anymore. I’ll just be a stranger to him… he won’t talk to me again.”

Tony exchanged a look with Bruce before he finally set his StarkPad down at his side and turned his full attention onto James, his eyes firm but kind. “No offense but who cares?”

At this, both Bruce and the younger man looked at him almost indignantly, and Tony felt the need to clarify.

“I didn’t mean for that to come out like that, but seriously. If he’s going to break off your 80 year friendship because you wanted to feel human again, then who needs him? You don’t need that in your life, Barnes. Telling you right now, you have every right to feel normal, all right?”

He saw Banner smile slight out of the corner of his eye, perhaps out of pride, but he continued to look down at James who seemed to visibly relax and then took a deep breath. Tony finished writing down the measurements and then turned around to look out of the glass at Nat and Steve again. Steve had his arms folded in front of his chest and his eyes were cold and piercing.

Nat seemed calm and relaxed standing guard.

He forced himself to walk over to the safe side of the wall and stood in front of Steve, almost challengingly.

“I don’t like how you did this, Stark. It was pretty underhanded, even for you….”

Tony shook his head in disbelief before he clenched his jaw tightly. “No, what’s underhanded is that you didn’t want him to get this procedure done in the first place, Cap. I know that if my war buddy lost a limb, I wouldn’t deny him the chance to feel normal again.”

Steve ran a frustrated hand through his hair and chuckled without humor. “Normal… what’s normal for you isn’t what’s normal for everyone else. You think that not sleeping for days on end is normal! You think building killer robots and Jericho missiles are normal.”

Tony felt a cold chill run through him now. “I’d appreciate it if we could leave out my past, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Hey,” a soft but firm voice interjected. “Stop it, both of you.”

Steve suddenly turned on Nat and Tony stiffened, fighting the urge to rush over and protect a woman that he knew could protect herself.

“Why don’t you tell your boyfriend to stop messing with my friend?”

Natasha didn’t flinch when Steve punched the space beside her, cracking the glass slightly, however Tony was the one who did flinch.

“Because James has a mind of his own but you’re treating him like he’s your pet. He’s human too, Steve, but you seem to keep forgetting that. Just let him do what he wants,” Natasha suggested.

“I’m just trying to look out for him, Natasha. You know that, and you,” he looked back at Tony, “Stay out of our business and stop telling Bucky to sneak around behind my damn back, or I’m going to scare you more than I already do and then you’re really going to have problems. Send him back up when you’re both done treating him like a science experiment.”

With that, Steve turned his back and hurried back up the stairs before slamming the door. When he was out of sight, Tony felt lighter, like he could breathe easier. Natasha went inside Tony’s lab and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

“He’s gone, it’s all right, Tony.”

He felt her lean closer and plant a soft kiss on his temple before she walked over to Bucky slowly. He took a shaky breath and turned around before he started to file the measurements in his database.

He heard muffled talking, his head still spinning from hearing Steve’s threat. Tony had wanted to stay more to him, stand up to him, but he was too weak, and everyone else knew it. How could he feel so angry at someone who scared him more than anyone could comprehend? These feelings were tearing him apart inside.

“Why do you think Steve doesn’t want us to build him another arm?”

Tony glanced over to see Bruce standing beside him and Natasha and Bucky talking almost easily to each other. “I don’t know. I think he could just be jealous that Barnes is spending time with me, period. After what happened, Cap probably figured his buddy would be staying away from me and he’s pissed because he’s not doing that. Who knows with him? He’s an enigma.”

Bruce gave him a weak smile and shrugged. “He’s something all right. You okay?”

Tony nodded once. “Always.”

He moved past him and back over to Bucky, waiting until Natasha and him had finished their conversation before he cut in. “So, we can use our lovely 3-D printer to make you your brand new arm, and once it’s done, probably in a day or two, we’ll have you come back down here and you can try it on.”

James sat up and gave a nod. “Will I be able to… eat and drink and shower with it?”

“Yeah, don’t see why not. With my Stark tech in there, you should be able to bend your fingers and caress women if you want too,” Tony half-joked, smirking. “You’ll be able to do whatever you did before.”

“Good… thank you, Stark. This… really means a lot to me.”

“I know it does,” Tony nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry about it. You should probably get back to Captain Planet up there before he has an aneurysm, not that we don’t like having you down here, of course.”

James chuckled and slowly pushed himself up before he started out of the lab.  When he was gone, Tony started the printer and listened to the hum of the machine as it started to build flesh before his eyes. He was quiet for several moments before he looked over at Natasha, suddenly remembering their date.

“You still up for our movie?”

She smiled softly and nodded. “If you are.”

Tony saw Bruce smirk from behind the desk and looked at him. “Care to join us, Banner?”

The doctor held up a hand as he smiled. “No, thank you, Tony. I’ve got lots to do here… but you two kids enjoy your night.”

“I’m sure we will.”

Natasha intertwined her arm in Tony’s and then led him upstairs. “What are you going to do about that crack in your lab wall?”

He was quiet for a few moments as he looked for a movie in the living room, scratching his chin. “I don’t know… maybe we can use some kind of glass glue for now until we can build another door. I’m just glad it was the wall that got beat up and not you.”

“You really think Steve would hurt me?”

Tony shrugged and glanced over at her. “You didn’t think Clint would, remember? I wouldn’t be surprised if Rogers put hands on you because he was mad at me.”

Natasha seemed to consider this and rose her eyebrows at Tony as they headed into the living room for their nightly viewing. “I think you want Rogers to ‘put hands on me,” as you so eloquently put it…”

“Really… why do you think I would want that? Because that is literally the last thing I would want to happen,” Tony replied, walking over to the movies and started to scan through them.

She shrugged as she plopped herself down on the couch and smiled softly, watching his body move. “I don’t know. If I didn’t know you, I would say that you want to let out your own anger on him. It gives you an excuse.”

He sighed tiredly and scratched his temple before he plopped the movie in before he turned around to face her, an unreadable expression on his face. “Good thing you know me, then, right? I think I have a good excuse to be angry at Rogers, truth be told. You know, keeping that big secret about his pal? All those years?”

Nat’s smile faded slightly and she furrowed her eyebrows, sitting upright worriedly. “Tony, I’m on your side… you don’t need to justify yourself anymore. Why are you getting argumentative? It’s just me.”

He ran a hand through his hair and sat down beside her before leaning back on the sofa. He turned his head to face her with soft eyes. “I know. Sorry, I just… get so twisted up by that guy. I want things to go back to how they were before I found out my parents and… and Barnes, but I know things can’t be the same again. Every time I think about it, I just picture myself grabbing Cap by the throat and pressing on his windpipe with both hands until…” he trailed off and then sighed, feeling angry at himself.

She placed her hand on his leg comfortingly and searched his face. “Hey, listen to me, Tony. It’s understandable you have those feelings. They’re valid and I don’t blame you for how you’re feeling but there might be times when you’re on missions with Steve, and the two of you need to be able to trust each other. I don’t want to have to be distracted and worried about you when I’m trying to kick bad guy ass. Okay?”

He nodded and swallowed hard before he placed his hand on hers, gently caressing her skin. “Okay. I’ll try to play nice.”

“Good. You better or I’ll hear about it…”

“I have no doubt you will. Everyone around here is a tattle-tale when it comes to me,” Tony smirked before he put his arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her into his chest.

She laughed before she made herself comfortable against his body and the two of them settled in to watch _The Sting_.

  
**OoOoOoOoOo**

 

_He was falling._

_Further and further, faster and faster, his heart racing in his chest._

_The propulsion on his suit had failed and he was falling from the sky faster than he could think._

_He was inches away from falling onto the ground…. About to crash…_

When he woke up with a start, his lungs feeling damaged. They weren’t pumping enough oxygen. He stood up quickly and started off towards the kitchen where he began to pace, his mind racing and feeling like he couldn’t breathe, like he was about to die from lack of air at any second.

He was moving back and forth, not paying attention to what was in front of him until he ran into Natasha who wrapped her arms lightly around his waist.

“It’s okay… you’re okay, Tony…”

“I…. c-can’t b-breathe…” he rasped, panicked tears streaming down his cheeks, still reeling from his dream.

She let go of him and let him over to the counter where he turned around to face the cupboards and put his arms out in front of his body to support himself.

She’s seen him like this before, and Nat was very aware of his panic attacks via Pepper, but Pepper wasn’t here for Tony anymore, and she was. She gently caressed his back in a circular pattern and watched him start to relax when she heard footsteps.

Tony heard them as well in the back of his mind and prayed they didn’t belong to Rogers. He kept his head down, just in case, though, his body tense as he tried to catch his breath again.

“Hey, is he all right?” a concerned voice asked.

Bruce.

“Yes, he’ll be okay,” Nat reassured the doctor. “I think we’ve got it under control, but thanks, Bruce. Did you want him to come and see you when he’s feeling better?”

There was a slight pause.

“Yeah, if he doesn’t mind. He can relax some if he needs to. Feel better, Tony…” Banner’s voice was still full of worry, but he took the hint from Natasha to give them a moment together.

Tony straightened up after almost fifteen more minutes and wiped away his tears when he caught his breath finally and calmed down. He sighed heavily when he finally turned to Natasha and wrapped his arms around her, gently pulling her against him and breathing her in.

“I just need all this shit to stop,” he spoke in a whisper before he gently rested his forehead against hers.

She placed a hand lightly on his neck and caressed the skin there soothingly. “I know, Tony, but it’s going to take time. You’ve been through a lot, and you bottle it all up until it explodes and it’s not healthy…”

“Have I ever been the epitome of health, Nat?”

She smirked weakly and shrugged. “I suppose not, but… I want to change that. I’m here for you, for better or worse. You don’t need to bottle anything up anymore. I’m not going to judge you or think less of you if you need help dealing with something. Promise me you’ll come to me when you need help.”

He thought about this for several moments and he took a deep breath before he nodded in agreement. “Okay, fine. I’ll come to you if I can’t help myself.”

“That’s not what I asked you to do…” she sighed in slight disappointment. “I know how you help yourself and that’s not healthy either.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony nodded knowingly and ran a hand through his hair again before he looked back at her. “I promise I’ll come to you when I need help.”

“Good.”

Natasha slowly leaned in further and kissed him and smiled when he kissed her as well. He placed a semi-rough hand on her cheek and gently thumbed it affectionately before pulling away finally.

“I better go see what the good doctor wants. I’ll catch up with you later?”

“Of course.”

Tony smirked lovingly at her before kissing her forehead and starting towards Bruce’s lab upstairs, grateful that he had someone else in his life he could protect and be loved by.


End file.
